Hello ScottM and welcome to Solar Panel Talk
To run that pump 12hours a day will consume 12h x 71w x 1.15 = 980wh or about 1kWh. The 1.15 is a fudge factor for losses.
A safe battery system size would need to provide about 4 to 5 times that amount. So at 4kWh you are looking at a 12volt 340Ah battery or 24v 170Ah battery.
A 12v 340Ah battery would need about 34 charging amps or about 400 watts of panels with a 45amp MPPT CC. About half that wattage with a 24v 170Ah battery but you have to also determine how much sunlight you will get during the days you want to run the pump.
Your panel wattage would need to be sized so it can put back more watt hours then it uses. So knowing where you live will help refine the array size but for a quick calculation and using the months of May to Sept lets say your worst usable sunlight hours at 4. NE Ohio may get less than 4.
So at 1000wh and 4 hours you need about 300 watts which meets that 400 watt system for a 12volt battery.
Remember that if your estimate of using 71watt for 12 hours is low you may need to upsize the system numbers.
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Solar panels and battery(s) required for pond aeration
Want to run a solar aerator for my 1/4 acre pond approx 12 hours per day from May through Sept using a Hi Blow 80 pump @ 71 watts in NE Ohio during daylight hours. I am stumped on number or panels and amp hour/battery(S) required. I am familiar with other components required such as inverter, charger, mounting, etc. I know running 24/7 would require a much higher cost so am trying to get away with just the minimum in panels and battery...any help would be appreciated!
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